In tribute to János Kornai (1928–2021)

A temporary exhibition of a previously unseen collection of personal photographs in tribute to János Kornai (1928–2021).
Portrait d'un homme derrière son bureau
Janos Kornai © Katelin London‎

Five years after his death, rediscovering the legacy of a great economic thinker

To mark the fifth anniversary of the death of János Kornai, this exceptional exhibition pays tribute to one of the greatest economists of the 20th century. Thanks to the generosity of his children, the public will be able to discover a previously unseen collection of personal photographs chronicling the key moments of his family, academic and international life.

Beyond these rare archives, the exhibition aims to pass on János Kornai’s intellectual legacy to future generations; his analyses continue to inform contemporary debates on economic systems, institutional reforms and public policy.

Who was János Kornai?

János Kornai (1928–2021) was a world-renowned Hungarian economist, a professor at Harvard University and a member of numerous international scientific academies. A specialist in socialist economics and economies in transition, he profoundly transformed our understanding of the mechanisms underlying planned systems.

His research notably highlighted the phenomenon of chronic scarcity, characteristic of centralised socialist economies, as well as the now indispensable concept of soft budget constraint (soft budget constraint), which is widely used to analyse state-owned enterprises, financial institutions and contemporary economic policies.

Following the fall of the communist regimes, his work also contributed to the debate on transitions to a market economy, public governance, democratic institutions and economic reforms. His work continues to influence economists, public decision-makers and researchers around the world.

His major works include:

  • Overcentralisation in Economic Administration (1959)
  • Anti-Equilibrium (1971)
  • Economics of Shortage (1980)
  • Contradictions and Dilemmas (1986)
  • The Socialist System: The Political Economy of Communism (1992)
  • Highway and Byways: Studies on Reform and Post-Communist Transition (1995)
  • By Force of Thought (2006)

The official opening will take place on 30 November 2026 at 4.30 pm at INALCO, in the presence of János Kornai’s children, as well as eminent economists, academics and researchers who have studied his work or drawn inspiration from it. It will be followed by a special two-hour lecture devoted to his intellectual legacy.

This event is funded by the CREE and the CS at Inalco.